Meanwhile, an ad against Perlmutter was panned by USA Today as one of the five worst of the season. The spot, by Perlmutter’s GOP opponent, Joe Coors, goes after Perlmutter’s former wife, who lobbied for Solyndra. “Of thousands of commercials inflicted on voters, a handful stand out for their sheer awfulness,” the newspaper’s editorial board wrote.

USA Today awarded Coors first place in the “fake ‘gotcha'” category.”

Said Coors spokeswoman Michelle Yi: “Obviously, we disagree with their opinion and we stand by the ad.”

Two ads from outside groups have hammered Republican Joe Coors as “extreme” but Coors fights back in a new spot that debuts today, saying his Democratic opponent Ed Perlmutter is the one who is too extreme.

The ad highlights two criminal-justice votes Congressman Perlmutter made while serving in the Colorado State Senate.

The commercial is from Coors’ campaign and marks the first time he has gone after his opponent on the air. Coors’ other campaign ads are focused on introducing himself and on energy policies.

Perlmutter spokeswoman Leslie Oliver burst out laughing when she heard Coors was describing the congressman as extreme.

An injured Navy SEAL and his wife star in Congressman Ed Perlmutter’s first campaign ad, which went on the air today.

In 2007, Chad Stodden was shot in the chest in Iraq and flown to Germany. His wife, Deanne, was told she needed to get there within 24 hours, but she was in the process of moving and her passport and military ID were packed away. Enter Perlmutter, a Democrat, who helped her get the necessary documents.

“It was something he could do, and he did it. He’s not a politician, he’s a person first,” Deanne says.

Stodden now is a firefighter.

Perlmutter is running for his fourth term in the 7th Congressional District. He faces a challenge from Republican Joe Coors, who already is up on the air with several commercials, including one on energy.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.